Tubular shrink sleeve application devices commonly utilize a mandrel over which a tubular shrink film is moved for cutting, and then the cut sleeve-type label is ejected from the mandrel onto a container located below the mandrel.
Typically sleeve films used in such machines have a thickness of, for example, between 40 and 60 microns. However, industry is trending more and more toward lighter weight sleeve films, such as those having a thickness of about 20 microns. Such thinner sleeve films have a greater tendency to collapse upon themselves during ejection, interfering with proper placement of the sleeves over containers.
Referring to the Prior Art system shown in FIG. 1, a typical sleever uses two ejector wheels 10. The wheels 10 are located on opposing sides of the tooling mandrel 12. Tubular film 14 is moved over the tooling mandrel 12. When a container is detected beneath the mandrel, a sleeve is cut (e.g., by a cutter 16) when the bottom edge 18 of the film is above the ejector wheels 10 per the position shown in FIG. 1. The film feed 20 pushes the cut sleeve down the tooling and into the ejector wheels 10. The ejector wheels 10 then eject the sleeve from the mandrel and onto a container 22 passing by on a conveyor. Typically, the ejector wheels work in combination with bearings 24 that protrude from the surface of the mandrel 12.
It would be desirable and advantageous to provide a system and method that facilitates suitable ejection of lighter weight films, as well as more standard weight films.